Greyhounds were once workers.

[sandymere 8,263]

As the modern greyhound becomes ever more a specialist, bed for pure speed, it can be argued that its moves ever further from the ideal hunting sight hound that was once its real purpose. Even modern coursing greyhounds follow a very similar path. We have developed the lurcher in part answer to this, we de-specialise the greyhound to give a little more versatility to the cross. Now dont get me wrong, I consider the English greyhound as the ultimate canine athlete but just as a formula one car is king on a race track once off road it has little merit and so the greyhound away from the track. The greys of old were a different kettle of fish, bred to catch hares, deer, rabbit etc in Britain and I wish there were still some around. We are all aware of the Arab version in the form of the saluki, bred to stay, and stay anon. This is excellent for massive deserts but in our small fields has it draw backs. So are there any European versions of the greyhound left that are still used as working dogs? Well there is one the Spanish greyhound or Galgos, it has been heavily influenced by its North African neighbours from across the straights of Gibraltar but is still retains the greyhound as its type Perhaps it might be an idea to tap into this genetic material before it also gets lost , after all it is likely very close to what our own greyhound were like prior to racing or match coursing came about. Already the rough or broken coated versions are becoming lost with now just the smooth type being commonly found. It would be a shame if we lost one of the last types of European greyhounds; especially one has a reputation for good feet and stays reasonably well.

Edited January 17, 2012 by sandymere

[Born Hunter 17,798]

I kind of see where you're coming from Sandy but have'nt you answered the question yourself? We have a number of established lines of lurcher bred for one purpose only, to hunt. Just because they vary in breeding, appearance and have no 'pedigree' status I don't think that makes a pure breed any more valuable. The first place I would be looking if wanting a lightening fast sighthound would be a line of lurcher to fit that description.

 

Have I missed the point?

Edited January 17, 2012 by Born Hunter

[sandymere 8,263]

No not missed the point just some thoughts for discussion on this type. There’ve been bred for a good few thousand years to catch European hares and it’s defiantly survival of the fittest out there! Modern fen types have been bred for only a few generations but already are in a league of their own, what would they be like after thousands of years? Then there’s the fact that most modern lurchers are basically greyhound crosses so using a working type greyhound would seem worth considering for those that choose the direct route. Even the line bed lurcher types owe their ancestry to track type greys or the modern coursing counterparts and maybe the greyhound part of the make up could include working rather than track/Irish coursing types. After thousands of years breeding the greyhound types have developed a specialist anatomy that needs maintaining in lurchers, ie increased heart size, higher red cell counts etc. the Spanish types aren’t as fast as our track types but pure speed is not everything for a working basically there similar to a greyhound cross saluki but bred to type for a lot longer so would perhaps bring the stable greyhound anatomical background but with more working capabilities.

Edited January 17, 2012 by sandymere

[Born Hunter 17,798]

I see what your saying, but are the pure breed sight hounds really of value to us any more? They are essential in the creating of the 'lurcher/longdog' but these days do we not have enough working lurchers out there to ever need to look at a pure breed again?

 

We all talk of what we have lost with the greyhound in terms of hunting prowess and I agree the greyhound is not what it once was (though I still hold them very highly). However, what the greyhound was was a very fast sighthound of the British isle used to course deer, hare and anything else the nobility found sport in. Do we not have that today in some of the many forms of the lurcher?

 

I don't personally think we have lost anything, I think it's just "the grass was greener one.... two.... five hundred years ago". The Greyhound of old still exists, just in the evolved form of the modern lurcher/longdog.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Born Hunter

[Matt3699 142]

Yep, I have always liked the Spanish Galgos. I lived over there for around 4-5 years and saw many of them.

 

The Spanish enjoy their coursing, however it is much more popular in the north where there is more flat land and it's not as hot. They like to run the Galgos. They are a great dog and handle the heat and terrain great. My 3/4 hound struggled when I moved to southern Spain.

 

She was brought up in Ireland and taking 4/5 hares most weekends. For the 4 years I lived in Spain she only ever caught 1 jackrabbit. That was it. The mountains just killed her. The hares in the south sit in the mountains and they are VARY weary... They will start running before you can even spot them. And when they do run, they run straight up the mountain at full speed...They make the Irish Hares look SLOW. By the time my dog got anywhere near she was exhausted from the hill climb. She had no chance.

 

This is by my old house. The Hares were there....

 

 

 

 

I vented my frustration to the local Spanish and they Laughed. They told me I need a dog with Galgos in it to be able to catch a Hare in the Spanish hills. Their speed and the stamina(surprisingly) was second to none. When I did see one go I was shocked. God can those dogs handle the hills!

[TOMO 26,638]

nice one mat,,, did you get a galgo then??? by the way were there many hares round you,, ?? what was the nearist city ??

where there any rabbits or deer??

[Matt3699 142]

I didn't, but a lot of the local guys from the village owned them and I saw them in action on the mountains.

 

I don't know how, but I persisted with my bitch for the 4 years I was there. I went out every weekend with her. Used to walk MILES. Every Hare I spotted was already halfway up the mountain. She would spot it and follow up with the scent... But the Hare had too much of an advantage.

 

She dies from a horrible disease called

Leishmaniasis. It's spread by the bite of a sandfly and causes the immune system to shut down. She died from the inside out and I didn't even know she was ill. I think she had it for a long time and it stopped her from catching any more. It can take upto a year to show symptoms, I think it slowed her down way before I realised she was iI

I.

 

 

I had a Saluki X Galgos for a while but it was a rescue dog and just ran off one day never to come back. Then I moved back to the UK.

 

Rabbits were about if you knew the right place. But again, they headed for the hills/ cover and were mostly on the dry river beds. None any where near me. I would have to travel an hour to even see a rabbit. And I didn't have a driving licence.

 

 

Deer were not really in the area. We had the odd ibex around. And I SWEAR I saw a lynx one night out lamping. Scared the shit out of me haha.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Matt3699

[TOMO 26,638]

yeh i think theres an inoculation you can get for sand fly,, i took my dog to ibiza back in 2002 when the first pet pasport came out,, and i remember the vet mentioning somthing about sand flys..

 

did the farmers not mind you mind you going on the land matt?? where were you , barcalona,, zaragosa way ??

[2Painless2btrue 11]

I've been thinking about the possible advantages of bringing a Galgos stud dog over to the UK. Apparently the way they treat them in Spain is terrible, but then the Spanish are hard on stock generally eg Donkeys, Bulls etc. Hard selection does produce results, however, so I imagine that a good Galgos running to horses as many do must be something special!

[moonlighter 1,164]

Sounds like we need to bring a few over.... They look like they would improve some of our bloodlines over here. And seeing as Spain is a lot closer than the Arab states it would probally be easier than getting a saluki from over there.

[Matt3699 142]

yeh i think theres an inoculation you can get for sand fly,, i took my dog to ibiza back in 2002 when the first pet pasport came out,, and i remember the vet mentioning somthing about sand flys..

 

did the farmers not mind you mind you going on the land matt?? where were you , barcalona,, zaragosa way ??

 

Yeah there is, but it's not 100% effective. She had the jab when I first got there.

 

I lived about 50 miles from Almeria in the Almanzora valley. I lived pretty much in the middle of no where. The only farmers around were Olive and Almond farmers. And obviously the old Goat farmers who walk their goats everywhere. But they didn't mind. If it's fenced off you don't go in. And there was no fences where I was. Just miles and miles of mountains.

[Matt3699 142]

A few pictures of the land I used to try and hunt. A lot of Hares... but no hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for taking the thread slightly off track. I think the point i'm trying to make is that the Galgos is the only dog I have seen that can handle the hills. Maybe a pure Saluki would be equally as good. But they didn't have many pures over there.

[TOMO 26,638]

oh so down the bottom then,,, sounds like a nice place matt,, the almond blossom in feb is beautiful what did you do for work ?? bet you wished you stayed

[sandymere 8,263]

Matt, everyone I’ve heard who has seen them run has high praise and a couple have commented on their retrieving.

 

 

 

From the history it would seem the Gauls brought the northern European greys to Spain where they would have met the Moorish saluki types, a thousand years of mixing and you get a Galgos.

 

 

[Matt3699 142]

Yep too far down... lol.

 

It was a great way of life. I worked in construction for 4 years. But the work dried up a hell of a lot and it got hit HARD by the recession.

 

It was so frustrating though, I used to walk miles and miles over mountain ranges looking for a little patch of Nirvana. Because the hares were everywhere but so was the mountains I was determined to find a patch of flat land and find a hare. All tge flat land was covered in dam olive or almond trees!!!( Yes beautiful in flower, but not great when your dog has to run rings around them ) One day I did find a spot though.... I remember walking around the side of a mountain and walked into a huge flat opening and a Hare hoped up. She had a good 2 minuets on it and was so close... But as soon as the Hare felt like she was about to strike... he f****d off up the nearest mountain.